The Blog

Want to Start a Business? 5 Different Business Types to Consider

By Miranda Marquit

Starting a business takes a lot of grit and determination. However, it can also be a lot of fun — along with being fulfilling and providing a way for you to earn money.

If you decide you want to start a business, you will first need to figure out what type of business makes the most sense for you. Here are five different business models to consider as you strike out on your own:

1. Physical Products

Do you want to sell something others can hold in their hands? This can be the route for you. Perhaps you make little knick-knacks that others might like to buy. Or maybe you just want to drop ship items without storing inventory.

There are any number of ways for you to sell physical products. In order to make this work, you need an ecommerce website (and maybe a physical location, depending), and you’ll need to be ready to market your product.

2. Services

If you have a skill that others would pay for, you can start a business selling your abilities. Some of the common skills that can be leveraged into services include:

Graphic design

Writing

Web design

Software development

Content marketing

Public relations

Virtual assistant

Coaching

Voiceover work

You can offer these services as a freelancer, or even build a business around consulting in these areas. Plus, you can provide services from just about anywhere as long as you have reliable internet access.

Thanks to technology, it’s even possible to do business coaching or do the tasks of an executive assistant over the internet. As long as you have something to offer, there’s a chance someone wants to buy it.

Get a home on the web, put together a portfolio, and start selling yourself.

3. Start a Blog

With blogging, you have to be ready to provide interesting content and build affiliate relationships so that you can make money over time. When you start a business using a blog, you need to be strategic about choosing your topics, as well as making sure you build a community.

Depending on your preference, you might need to be careful about the type of audience you try to appeal to. Do you want to appeal to a general audience? Or does it make sense to niche down? With a niche audience, you might be able to attract higher-quality traffic, resulting in better conversions, even if you don’t have a huge amount of traffic.

Grow your traffic through promotion techniques that will give you the best traction. You might need to spend money on ads as well.

4. Digital Products

It’s also possible to start a business developing and selling digital products. Some types of digital products include:

Ebooks

Online courses

Creating graphic design templates

Publishing an online magazine

Teaching webinars

You might also put together an online academy or portal that allows people to learn from you.

Whatever the product, it’s possible for you to deliver goods electronically, without the need to create a physical product. There are platforms that can help you make this possible. Amazon can help you publish digital books, and Udemy is a way for you to create courses.

Look for ways to make the most of your knowledge by producing something that can be sold over and over again.

5. Podcasting

One of the newest ways to start a business is podcasting. Talk about ideas and issues that you are knowledgeable about, or invite interesting guests. Promote your podcast and build a listener base. As you grow in popularity, you can sell sponsorships on your podcast, receiving revenue. There are also companies like Midroll that help you find sponsors, even if your podcast is relatively small.

Are You Ready to Start a Business?

No matter what business type you choose, the reality is that you have to be ready to put in the time and effort. Every business requires a strategy. In order to be successful, you need to market your business, and spend a lot of time working on it.

While it can be rewarding, and you can end up making a great deal of money in the long run, the reality is that the first part of starting a business takes a lot of effort, and it can be hard. You need to be committed to the long haul if you want to succeed.